CCU Volleyball Advances to Semifinals in RMAC Playoffs

Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 8:55 AM

CCU Volleyball has been making history all year, and Tuesday night at Metro State was no exception. For the first time in over a decade – 26 matches, to be exact – Colorado Christian pulled off a win against Metro State. Though the Roadrunners had swept CCU in both regular season meetings, the Cougars saved their best for the RMAC Tournament.

To say that the win was a big one would be an understatement. In 23 years since the program started, CCU's Cougars have never advanced past the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoffs. This year, that streak changes.

Just as they did a week and a half ago against the Roadrunners, CCU pushed the home Metro squad to five sets. This time, with the lead in the fifth, Christian didn't let up. Riding a wave of momentum spurred on by a raucous Cougar crowd, CCU outscored MSU 10-3 to close out the match.

“Honestly, I am speechless,” exclaimed senior libero Cassidy Burke after the win. “The overwhelming feeling of accomplishment is beyond words. Tonight, we played for all the alumni and fans and people that did not believe we could do this. It feels pretty cool beating the odds and doing big things with girls that are more than just teammates.”

As she does most nights, Burke led the Cougars in the back row with 12 digs. Her efforts helped Colorado Christian limit the Roadrunners to a meager .131 attack clip – that's significant, considering the nation's 25th ranked squad normally hits a .225.

CCU, on the other hand, managed a .217. Christian's All-RMAC selections did the bulk of the work, with First-Team pick Andi Weber turning in a .333 on 12 kills in 27 attempts. Freshman of the Year Taylor Sturms played bigger and older than she is, hitting an impressive .400 and leading all hitters with 21 kills and just three miscues. Ali Weber (Third-Team All RMAC) notched nine kills (.280) and seven blocks for the Cougars.

“I am overwhelmed with the faith I have in my team,” Ali Weber expressed. “We have poured our hearts into this game we love so much, and we will continue to do so. We are so thankful for all of our supporters! Our program is much larger than just our team.”

CCU setter Jordan Carswell notched a team-high 41 assists in the win.

Out of four RMAC quarterfinal matches Tuesday night, the only upset happened at Metro. CCU will take their #5 seed into Golden Friday for a 5/1 pairing against regular season champion Colorado School of Mines at 7:30. The winner of that match will face the Regis/Adams State winner in Saturday's 7:00 final.